The Works Swimming Pool holds 130 cubic metres of water.

The Works Swimming Pool

After a hot day of exploring Zollverein, cool down with a swim at the pool.

During the summer holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia, the pool is a popular meeting place for children and teenagers from the neighbouring districts. – © Jochen Tack / Zollverein Foundation

Visitors can cool down, sunbathe and relax in the Works Swimming Pool every day from 12:00 to 20:00 during the summer holidays. – © Jochen Tack / Zollverein Foundation

The Works Swimming Pool is a symbol of the structural change in the Ruhr area. – © Jochen Tack / Zollverein Foundation

During the summer holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia, the pool is a popular meeting place for children and teenagers from the neighbouring districts. – © Jochen Tack / Zollverein Foundation

You’ve probably never seen a swimming pool quite like this before!

The 12-metre-long pool is located in front of the coke oven battery in the middle of the former Zollverein Coking Plant. Where coal was once baked into coke, two overseas containers have been welded together to hold the water. Bright blue, it is one of the most exciting bathing locations in Germany.

An aerial view of the Works Swimming Pool with a view to the long coke oven battery with chimneys and a solar power system. – © Jochen Tack, Zollverein Foundation

The idea of building a swimming pool at a coal mine was no coincidence. Works swimming pools have a long tradition in the Ruhr area and Zollverein also had a swimming pool at Shaft 4/5/11 for mining apprentices and the families of the workforce. Today, the artwork is an example of the social change and the newly achieved quality of life in the Ruhr area.

The 2.4 x 12 x 5 metre Works Swimming Pool by the artists Dirk Paschke and Daniel Milohnic consists of two overseas containers that were cut apart and then welded together. – © Jochen Tack, Zollverein Foundation

During the summer holidays, you can relax at the pool in front of a spectacular backdrop every day from 12:00 to 20:00. The pool has a depth of 2.4 metres and is only suitable for people who can swim.

Visit

The Works Swimming Pool

Hours

Open during the summer holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia:
daily 12:00 to 20:00, closed in bad weather

Pricing

Free